Xbox 360 or a wii?
 

We may get one of these systems for Christmas. I want the wii because well, even thought its specs are weaker then the xbox I feel the wii is more family oriented.

My almost 12 yr old wants an Xbox 360 though. I asked him WHY and he said because he wants halo 3. LOL That is the ONLY good reason he gave me. haha

Give me other good reasons one way or the other.

Yes, I'm asking a buncha gaming freaks (no doubt) to compare the two. Please keep my 7 yr old girl and my 3 yr old boy in mind LOL.

I want the wii cuz it has gadgets... lots and lots of gadgets, and, well, I'm a gadget person. LOL

Also, if I do decide to buy a wii over Xbox are there any wii games that compare to Halo? Alien vs human army?

We had a large thread on the same topic in december last year. ;)

Might be worthwhile to search for it.

I would say go for the xbox 360 if that is what he has his heart set on. The wii, as fun as it is, is only fun for a short while it soon gets stale in my opinion though I'm not a gamer but i do like to play mario kart online every so often and the good thing about the wii is that you don't have to pay a subscription to play online whilst with the xbox 360 I'm sure you have to pay a monthly subscription to play online against other online users.

edit: I would suggest you pay gamespot.com a visit and compare the selection of games that both consoles have to offer and what genres that warrants purchasing the right console for your kids.

Grrrrrrrrr mario Kart. Damn you bullies *waves fist at the mario kart online users for bullying* :)

Thats another reason I like the Nintendo verity, Shelley. LOL I'm a HUGE old school game player. You know the stuff from the 80's. haha. Gotta have me some duck hunt and Mario cart! The wii's even have a gun. IDK.

Thanks Marco, I'll look for the thread, odds are a lot more people own wiis now then last year. I know last Christmas was the wii ownership EXPLOSION. haha

yes, yes, yes, search is my friend. :p

I bought my son one last year myself. Was a good choice.

Forgot to mention (thinking pratical here). The wii will def keep the kids fit, I'm a 5 mile a day runner and playing the wii for the first time nearly 2 years ago I suffered aches and pains playing the free games that came with it (wii fit) esp the boxing. So, if you are one of those people that don't like your kids sitting around like couch potatoes all day the wii will definetely tire them out.

Another reason. It's the console that allows alot more interactivity with the whole family. I'm not sure what kind of packages you get in your part of the world but I had to buy another controller and nunchuck thing (I think that is standard with buying all consoles). Just thought i would point out the praticalities of purchasing the wii.

Downside about the wii, it can get dangerous. You'll need lots of space I can't tell you the amount of lights that have been smmashed with friends and family waving the controller and nunchucks around so you may have to watch your children if you have valuables in the house that you don't want broke, esp if you have a nice hd tv as there have been many times that the controllers have flown away from my hands. And that's even with the strap attached. wiidamage.com

Hmmmm. I'm rambling.

my kids prefer the 360 over wii ... the wii has been collecting dust for the past 10 months - it gets old very fast

however, I suggest the wii for your 7 and 3 year olds - lots of stimulating colors and music

My kids enjoy the Wii. Really makes things nice when the Nieces and Nephews are over because most of the games that we have are 4 player games. We don't have an XBOX 360 but the regular XBOX hasn't been turned on for almost 2 years now.

Yeah, we have a regular xbox too. It doesnt get much play either but I think its more of a game type issue. If I had ones that would better suit the younger ones.... maybe.

I wish I could just buy both LOL

360. I can't get enough of mine and there are so many good games for all kinds of people. I know 4 people who bought a wii last christmas, and all of them have sold theirs. Go figure...

I'd go for the 360. A lot of the software on the Wii doesn't really take advantage of the Wiimote. There are more than a few games for the system where all you do is shake the remote or some other nonsense.

Our Wii gets a lot of use but it's mostly just people playing Wii Sports or Guitar Hero. My Wii probably spends more time emulating older consoles than it does actually running Wii or Gamecube software.

First person shooters on the Wii just don't measure up to the Xbox 360. The Xbox community sees a new FPS games all the time (I'm personally hooked on Left 4 Dead ;)), the controls are standardized for the most part and there is already an established online community to play with on Xbox live.

On that note I would not turn kids lose on Xbox live... For one thing there are too many of them on there anyway and secondly what goes on over voice chat just isn't kid friendly.

I also wouldn't buy into this idea that buying a Wii is healthy for anyone that plays it. I assure you it's possible to play every game for the system with your butt firmly planted in an easy chair. My brother is an expert at bowling (300 is his high score) and he plays it while laying on the couch. If you want active kids video games aren't the answer.

One final thing to keep in mind; One console is not really any more expensive than the other after you add up the cost of extra controllers and games. In my experience it's easier to find second hand Xbox 360 controllers/other misc hardware and games.

Wii...

I love the concept, will reduce some pounds in your kids ;)

Bought wii few months ago, played it for few weeks and never touched it since then.

Xbox 360 keeps me going though, only since its got xbox live and halo 3.

I bought a Wii for the Wii Fit. It works if you actually use it on a daily basis and don't use it to rationalise extra portions of food on the grounds that you'll be burning it off. I keep failing at the second part, but it tastes nice.

Rapscallion

Does anyone want to sell me their dust collecting wii?? HAHAHAHAH ROFLMAO.

I cant believe walmart had them on sale last week for 249 and now they are going for 400 plus on ebay... and getting higher and higher. I'm so sick of the scalpers buying everything up!

I wouldn't touch/purchase any consoles let alone a wii from ebay, I would just persevere and try and browse your local ads. Chances are that someone somewhere (located near you) will be selling a wii and you'll have the luxury of try before you buy ensuring everything is in tip top shape.

Warranty is a big issue with 360s. I've had 2 fail out of 3. My advice is to buy from amazon, if you're in the UK. Their customer support is SUPERB. They sent me a replacement 360 first, then gave me 30 days to ship mine back. Not only that but they paid for postage back to them. Granted, the postage costs are covered by law but a lot of retailers argue when you mention it :)

Yeah, my sisters 360 failed too. A few weeks after she bought it. She had to send it in and pay for shipping. It was under warranty but she still had to pay the shipping.

I have all the systems out now except PS3 and it really depends on who is going to use it the most...

Your son wants it for one game and then it will sit or will he play Halo in multiplayer? Will you pay for the xbox live membership i.e. gold etc?

Wii though is just like you said more family oriented. The wife, myself and our daughter play it more than the 360 and the only thing we play on 360 now is Guitar Hero but for Wii it's MarioKart, Wii Sports and for christmas we are going to pickup the Wii Fit and the snowboarding game you can use the pad with!

So basically no matter what we say it's still going to be your call... I say go to a gamestop or EB games or whatever you have around you and spend 1/2 hour playing both.

S-MAN

Check your local Target if you have one. They get in one or two a day here at each store. We have 3 Target stores in the area including a Super Target. Have to be there at opening and just look. Its a pain but you can get them at standard pricing.

Gamestop/EBgames (they are the same company) also stock refurbished used machines. These are cheaper than new machines of course and come with a 7 day no questions asked return policy. Get it home, hook it up after the kids go to bed and check it out to make sure it works.

I have all the systems out now except PS3 and it really depends on who is going to use it the most...

Your son wants it for one game and then it will sit or will he play Halo in multiplayer? Will you pay for the xbox live membership i.e. gold etc?

Wii though is just like you said more family oriented. The wife, myself and our daughter play it more than the 360 and the only thing we play on 360 now is Guitar Hero but for Wii it's MarioKart, Wii Sports and for christmas we are going to pickup the Wii Fit and the snowboarding game you can use the pad with!

So basically no matter what we say it's still going to be your call... I say go to a gamestop or EB games or whatever you have around you and spend 1/2 hour playing both.

S-MAN

Yeap, red rings of death!

I called 1-800-4MY-XBOX International (direct dial to U.S.): 425-635-7180. Hearing Impaired (TDD device): 1-866-740-9269 or 425-635-7102

And they sent a box prepaid which I sent it back in and two weeks later a new one :D

Funny thing is the box they send you is plain white but when I walked in the UPS store the guys said ohh you have a 360.. I paused and said yeah, how'd you know?? they said "We get in 2-3 per week" and I thought wtf????? Now that's just sad IMO and speaks for itself.

*Just remember your warranty was extended 3 yrs due to the disputes over this after a developer of the system spilled the beans on their problems that they were fully aware of before starting to sell the system :erm:.

More info on that here --> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_36...nical_problems

OUCH! LOL

All the DirectXBoxs should now have the updated hardware to correct the RRoD.. So don't let that get in your way of buying one. But here's the thing, out of all my friends that own consols, the ones with the PS3's and the Wii's had more problems than my XBox friends. $50 a year for the live service is totally worth it, you really get a lot of stuff that you don't get with the Wii or PS3.

The biggest thing, your kids will grow into the XBox.. they will grow out of the Wii

Besides in a couple years I'm sure the next generation of consoles will be rolling on the assembly lines.

I cannot vouch for the Wii yet. ;)
But we have owned an Xbox 360 and Halo3 since releases.

The Xbox 360 has a huge social networking capability that far surpasses other consoles
but children really have to be supervised due to its free-for-all nature.
(Halo 3 has alot of online potty mouths)
There are parental controls but the online voice communications are unfiltered.
(I hear that Microsoft is actually developing a filtered words voice software which is cool.)

The Xbox 360 has alot of nice features now with the latest NXE update.
You can watch streamed videos from Netflix.com (with a subscription),
share photos and files with friends and even connect directly to your PC.
Regarding content... it's Microsoft, which means there is alot of pay-per-content.
For instance, my daughter plays Phantasy Star which requires the game purchase itself,
the Xbox Live service and the Phantasy Star subscription($10 per month additional).
That does not include additional game related content like the expansion pack.
Same goes for Halo 3. You buy the Console, the game and the service just to be forced
to buy new map packs and additional downloads.
But you get my point.
You only need to buy the Xbox online service if you plan to play online multi-player.

I don't have either systems but for reason I think the wii would be the better choice. It's just so unique and revolutionary. Blew everyone away this year. I had my doubts because of the controller but, it's definately beyond anyone's expectation I think.

Both of them are very cool, but personaly I like the xbox 360 better.

Both my older sons have XBOX360's. We purchased them at Best Buy with the two yr replacement plans. How they work is if the xbox fails (which it will) under the manufacturers warr, they will simply swap it out and you dont have to use the warrentee. If it fails after the manufacturers warrentee, they will swap it out once. My youngest has swapped his out 3 times in the last (first) year since he bought it. My other son has had his 4 months and is starting to have issues.

I have a wii, in the front room and it has never failed.

If you buy an XBOX360 buy it from Best Buy and pay the $69 for their 2 yr plan. Either that or expect to have to ship it off to Microsoft for repairs numerous times and be without it for months. The manufacturer warrentee is now 3 yrs, so with the extended coverage you can swap it out, in store, as many times as you need to for free. Then after 3 yrs you get a single swap out for the $69. Well worth in IMO.

Both my sons also watch Netflix movies via their xboxes.. Pretty cool. However it is limited to the "view instantly" collection which is only some mighty old movies. None of the new stuff can be watched this way.

They grew out of Halo3 very fast and are now playing Call of Duty 4 and 5.

COD 5 is also available for wii, which I am getting soon.. With the wii, you can play it with a "gun", which is better for me. I have a hard time remembering all the buttons on the xbox

Well, considering how COD looks on WII with this funny little 700 Mhz CPU, tbh I think WII failes in almost every corner to make something really nice looking and stays where Nintendo usually was before, in the childrens corner.

No offense. In my oppinion from a hardware & visual kinda view you can?t compare to WII to anything like PS3 or Xbox.

Nintendo is actually the same way. It doesn't have a "Live Service" and its online games are free to use if you have an internet connection for the Wii. But it has channels that you buy including a Web Browser from Opera, legacy games from Sega, Nintendo, Konami and other companies, accessories galore and more.

Most of the games and channels are between 3 and 5 dollars but the accessories can add up. $60.00 for an additional controller and nunchuck. $30.00 for a basic dance mat. $90.00 for the WiiFit (which is just an accessory in reality). There are tennis rackets, baseball bats, steering wheels, etc... should you choose to buy them.

I don't know.. My kids are teens and enjoy the Wii. There is one at my house, their mother's house and their grandparent's house. Makes for great interaction even when all eight of the kids are together (I have 3 and there are 5 nieces and nephews). Ages range from 1 to 16.

That said, I am going to get a Playstation 3 next year. Thought about the XBOX 360 but as it still does not have Blu-ray capabilities, that is a turnoff.

The must right now is to have an antique Atari to play our first video games.. .remember pacman in real version, or even the BruceLee game on the Commodore 64...
http://www.planetflibble.com/blitz/screens/new1.jpg

My son has a working Atari 2600 and 7800. He also has a Nintendo, Nintendo-32, and Nintendo 64 system.

My parents have a working Pong game that they bought back in 1977. Whoever knew that two little sticks and a square block/ball could create so much fun for 3 decades.

pong, oh my my, i have one from that moment too, my first Apple... 1977... when Apple became something else than a bunch of guys in a garage... lol i had one of those:
https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/external/2008/12/57.jpg

i think the only two games on that Apple II were actually Pong and TicTacToe... lol

Go for the 360!
It has the best kids game that everybody in every age loves, Banjo-kazooie XBLA and Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts where you use creativity.

The Wii will get boring to soon and the only game I liked was Zelda.
I have one in the closet and it's been there for 2 years.

Your talking to a hardcore gamer owning over 5000 games.

5000 games?!... not all fully paid i suppose, as most of the console games are around 40$... lol

personally, for youngsters i would prefer the Wii, which is more "physical" than "fingeral ?!"... i see more good games in the 360, but it cost more at the end anyway, as there is no real options with the default shipped version. the Wii have lower priced articles this year as it is his 3rd christmas to be on the market and games are more enclined with gadgets ... one game, one gadget... ;) you even get cooking parties with the Wii.. lol

i also tend to take games for my youngsters, as the teenager have his own Wii AND PS3 in his own bedroom... (financed by himself, i can't control it -- just the gore level in his games lol)

I have both consoles and I must say, it depends on what games you like. If you are more family friendly, go with the wii. For everything else, go with the 360.

I too have both consoles. If your son likes Halo 3, than you should go for the Xbox 360, as the games on it are more mature and more action packed. Also the online service the Xbox provides (Xbox Live) is the best online service out of the 3 consoles (PS3 included). Apart from that the Xbox has some good familly games aswell, ie: Banjo Kazooie, Viva Pinata, and more.

If he wants fun with friends, and familly you should go for the Wii. Although it's not that good online, it is really fun to play on with friends, and has a lot of fun games, for example: Super Smash Bros., Mario Kart, Mario Party.

That's the difference really. It's up to you to decide (Or just buy them both :P).

True. However, I am NOT by any means a "gamer". I like the wii, because I can mess around and have some fun, where it is damn near impossible for me to do so on the XBOX. I have played with my son HALO3, I was the DT, designated target. I would run around and when the opponent would pop up to kill me my son would snipe them. That gets old.
None taken and I agree with you. One can not and should not buy a wii if they expect it to be like either the 360 or PS3

Hey Mike...long time no see :)

Very long time, how the hell are you?

Can you please use PM for personal messages.